Dispensing bin and method for loading and unloading same



June 18, 1963 P. HAUGEN 3,

DISPENSING BIN AND METHOD FOR LOADING AND UNLOADING SAME Original FiledDec. 24, 1957 INVENTOR. Edward j? Jzaugen g g z g e United States Patent()fiice 3,094,243 Patented June 18, 1963 3,094,243 DISPENSING BIN ANDMETHOD FOR LOADHNG AND UNLOADING SAME Edward P. Haugen, 1015 MarquetteSt, La Salle, Ill. Continuation of application Ser. No. 705,034, Dec.24, 1957. This application June 13, 1960, Ser. No. 35,841 2 Claims. (Cl.222-1) This invention relates to a dispensing bin for granular materialand in particular to a dispensing bin which prevents segregation of thegranular material in accordance with characteristics of individualparticles thereof as the material moves toward a discharge opening atthe bottom thereof. This application is a continuation of applicationSerial No. 705,034, filed December 24, 1957, now abandoned.

In dispensing bins for granular materials such as sand, grain and coal,it is common to withdraw the material from the bottom of the bin througha gated discharge opening. As the material is withdrawn from the bottomof the bin, usually in successive discharges, the remaining materialwithin the bin is caused repeatedly to shift with the result that thereis a significant segregation of the particles in accordance with theirindividual characteristics such as weight, size and/ or density. This isobjectionable since the material obtained in one discharge will differsubstantially from that obtained in a subsequent discharge in that thetwo discharges will have different concentrations of particles of agiven characteristic. In particular the last discharges from a bin willtend to have a disproportionately large percentage of low density orlarge particles, the smaller particles or particles of heavier densityhaving worked their way past the larger or lighter density particles asa result of the churning action caused by previous discharges.

A dispensing bin constructed in accordance with the present inventionwill discharge granular material from the bottom of the bin withoutpermitting segregation of the material in accordance with thecharacteristics of the individual particles thereof. It is to be notedthat apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention isnot intended as a mixing apparatus such that otherwise segregatedmaterials may be mixed, but that it does permit withdrawal of materialwithout causing segregation. This function is accomplished in accordancewith the present invention without moving parts. More particularly, nopart of the apparatus other than the discharge gate is movable eitherautomatically or manually.

In accomplishing this result, apparatus constructed in accordance withthe present invention permits withdrawal of the material through a gateddischarge opening at the bottom of the bin but actually withdrawsmaterial from the uppermost level of the material in the bin. In soremoving the upper levels of the material in the bin, there is nomovement of any of the material in the bin except for a simple slidingmovement of the upermost level of material followed by a straight drop.It will readily be seen, therefore, that little or no opportunity isprovided for segregation of the material in accordance with thecharacteristic of the individual particles.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved dispensing binfor granular materials which permits withdrawal of the material througha discharge opening at the bottom of the bin without permittingsegregation of the material. It is another object of the invention toprovide an improved dispensing bin for granular materials having thecharacteristics described immediately above and which employs no movingparts.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an improveddispensing bin for granular materials which withdraws such material fromthe uppermost layers within the bin and discharges the material throughan opening in the bottom of the bin.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved dispensingbin having the characteristics described imemdiately above and whichemploys no moving parts.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide an improveddispensing bin for granular materials in which the material isdischarged through an opening in the bottom of the bin and in whichmovement of material within the bin is limited to the uppermost levels.

This invention, together with further objects and advantages thereof,will best be understood by reference to the following description takenin connection with the accompanying drawings, and its scope will bepointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, in which like parts are designated by like referencenumerals:

[FIGURE 1 is a cross-sectional view of a dispensing bin illustrating oneembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a greatly enlarged partial view of the central portion of theapparatus shown in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a partial view of an alternative embodiment of a portion ofthe apparatus of FIGS. 1-3.

The illustrated embodiments of the invention are specifically intendedto handle sand. However, the invention has application to dispensingbins for handling any form of granular material regardless of the natureof the material or the size of the individual particles. Moreparticularly, the granular material may be inert materials such as sandand gravel, or edible materials such as grain of various forms. Thematerial also may be of small particle size as in the case of sand orgrain and it may be of large particle size as in the case of lump coal,it being necessary only to proportion the apparatus in accord ance withthe size of the particles.

The dispensing bin illustrated in the drawing includes a generallyvertical wall 11 defining the main body of the bin. While the wall 11defines a bin of square, horizontal cross section, it will be readilyunderstood that the bin may be of any desired cross section. It willalso be understood that the wall 11 need not be vertical since the binmight be spherical or tapered or of any suitable shape without alteringthe applicability of the present invention.

The upper end of the dispensing bin shown in the drawing is closed witha pyramidal roof portion 12 with the exception of a port 13 throughwhich the bin may be filled. The lower portion of the bin is formed ofan inverted pyramidal portion 14- terminating in a discharge opening 15.This discharge opening is gated by any suitable form of gate 15a tocontrol the discharge of material from the bin. Since various forms ofgate are well known in the art and since the particular form of gatedoes not constitute a feature of the present invention it is not shownin detail in the drawing or described in detail herein. It is believedto be snfficient for the purpose of disclosing the present invention tostate that the gate 15a serves to permit and to stop the flow ofmaterial at the discretion of an operator.

It is well recognized in the art that when granular material iswithdrawn from the bottom of a dispensing bin such as that so fardescribed, there will be a resulting mixing and churning of the materialremaining in the bin such that segregation of the material will takeplace in accordance with the characteristics of the individualparticles. In general, small or dense particles will find their way tothe bottom more rapidly than large or less dense particles, with theresult that the latter will be concentrated in the last withdrawals. Thenovel apparatus described below and incorporated in the dispensing binthus far described serves to minimize shifting and sliding of thematerial within the dispensing bin whereby segregation of the materialis substantially avoided.

This apparatus comprises, in the embodiment of FIGS. 1-3, a pair ofchannel members 20 which define a vertical passage 21 extendingsubstantially throughout the height of the dispensing bin. The channelmembers 20' extend through and fill the opening at the bottom of thedispensing bin whereby the passage 21 has exclusive communication withthe actual discharge opening. In other words, there is no communicationbetween the bin and the actual discharge opening except by way of thepassage 21. The channel members are spaced apart to provide a pair ofvertical openings 22 through which the material in the bin may pass intothe vertical passage 21 defined by the channel members 20.

Preferably, short portions of the channel members extend below theopening 15 and are covered to form a chute, as shown in FIG. 1. Thegate, referred to above, fir controlling discharge is preferablyarranged in this c ute.

These channel members may be supported by any suitable means and in theillustrated embodiment of the invention are supported by two pairs ofbeams 23 and 24 which extend from Wall to wall of the bin and engage theouter surfaces of the channel members 20. The beams 23 support thechannel members 20 near their lower ends, while the pairs of beams 24similarly support the channel members near their upper ends.

The flanges of the channel members 20 preferably terminate below theupper peak of the bin, and support a baffle 25 which may be fastenedthereto by spot-welding. Material entering the opening 13 at the top ofthe dispensing bin will strike the sloping surfaces of the bafile 25such that it is thrown to the sides of the bin. This prevents piling upof the material within the vertical passage 21 and irregulardistribution of the material in the bin. Alternatively, the channelmembers may terminate completely at a point below the top of the bin andmay have a pyramidal baflle secured thereto.

When the gate at the discharge opening 15 is opened to withdrawmaterial, the material located within the vertical passage 21 maydischarge with a straight vertical drop whereas material located outsidethe vertical passage, even though it lies closely adjacent the verticalopenings 22, must move laterally as well as downwardly before it canenter the vertical passage 21. Accordingly, material outside thevertical passage remains substantially stationary while the materialwithin the vertical passage moves downwardly and out through thedischarge opening 15. Observation has confirmed that little or nomaterial enters the vertical passage 21 through the vertical slots 22below the uppermost level of material within the bin.

The vertical passage 21 is continuously refilled, during discharge, bymaterial from the uppermost level within the bin. The upper surface ofthe material in the bin tends to assume a sloping or conical form assuggested by the phantom lines in FIG. 1. Particles at the uppermostlevel must move laterally as well as downwardly to reach the verticalpassage 21, but the resulting tumbling action is confined to a thin toplayer of material. Accordingly any segregation of particles resultingfrom this tumbling action is on a very small scale and the effect is notaccumulative. Since there is negligible shifting and sliding of thegreat bulk of material below the uppermost level and the tumbling actionat the uppermost level has insignificant segregating effect, there isnegligible segregation of the material.

It will be apparent that the means defining the vertical passage 21 maybe of various forms. A single vertical opening 22 might be provided, inwhich case the means defining the vertical passage 21 might be box-likein horizontal cross section with an opening provided in only one wallthereof. The means defining the vertical passage 21 might also betubular with one or more vertical openings. Still further, the meansdefining the opening of the passage 21 might be of any desired crosssection with numerous large perforations therein such that asubstantially continuous vertical opening is provided in effect. Where asubstantially continuous vertical opening is specified herein it is tobe understood that the opening is substantially continuous in a verticaldirection only to the extent that as the level of the material in thebin falls, an opening into the vertical passage 21 is always providedfor the material which at any given moment lies adjacent the uppermostlevel of material within the bin. It will be apparent that if thesubstantially continuous vertical opening in the means defining thevertical passage 21 is discontinuous to the extent that there is noopening for a height of, for example, two inches, when the level of thematerial in the bin immediately adjacent the vertical passage 21 reachesthe bottom of the opening above the two-inch dead space, material willthen flow into the next opening two inches below with the result thatthere is some churning of material in the upper few inches of thematerial in the bin. However, any segregation of material would belimited to the material in this upper stratum and accordingly would belimited to this relatively small quantity of material and would not beaccumulative. Accordingly, it may be seen that if the substantiallycontinuous vertical opening is not in fact absolutely continuous, asmall amount of churning and a small amount of segregation wouldtheoretically occur. However, since the segregation would not beaccumulative and would be confined to segregation within a relativelysmall batch, the effect, for most practical purposes, would benegligible.

If one or more actually continuous vertical openings should beconsidered undesirable in a given application of the invention for thereason that it weakens the means which define the vertical passage, avertical passage which is fully continuous, in effect, may be obtainedin the manner illustrated in the embodiment of FIG. 4. In thisembodiment a tube 30 defines a vertical passage 31 and material ispermitted entry to this passage by slots 32. These slots are of limitedlength but successive slots overlap in the vertical direction such thatmaterial at all levels has access to the passage 31. The slots 32,additively, constitute a continuous vertical opening such that alllevels of material within the bin have access to the vertical passage 31through one or more of these overlapping slots. In view of the analysispresented above, it will be understood that even if the slots 32 wereshort of overlapping in a vertical direction they would still provide asubstantially continuous vertical opening and would functionsatisfactorily.

A dispensing bin has now been described which provides for the dischargeof granular material from the bottom thereof without permittingsegregation of the granular material in accordance with the individualcharacteristics of the particles. This is accomplished by withdrawingthe uppermost levels of material first through the bottom opening,without the use of any moving parts other than the conventional gatemeans at the bottom opening.

It will be apparent that the invention may be varied in its physicalembodiment without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it isdesired, therefore, that the invention be limited only by the scope ofthe appended claims.

The invention having thus been described, what is claimed and desired tobe secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In combination, a bin, a gated discharge outlet at the bottom of saidbin, a mixture of granular material disposed in said bin, a fixed,straight, tubular means disposed substantially centrally within said binand extendin; vertically therein from said outlet to a location inproximity to the top of said bin, an inlet opening at the top of saidbin, said tubular means defining a longitudinal slot extendingthroughout its length to provide exclusive communication between saidbin and said discharge outlet to permit the upper layer of granularmaterial 'within said bin to flow into said passage at any level of saidupper layer and to prevent the lower layers of granular material withinsaid bin from flowing into said passage by virtue of the weight of theupper layers of said material thereon, a downwardly and radiallyoutwardly inclined conically shaped baffle located at the top of, andclosing the upper end of, said conduit, a closure member over the top ofsaid bin having a centrally disposed inlet opening positioned directlyabove and in proximity to said baflle, said inlet opening being the onlyinlet for said granular material to said bin whereby granular materialmay fall by gravity alone through said passage and said outlet Withoutsegregation.

2. A method of loading and unloading a mixture of granular material froma storage bin through a discharge opening in the bottom of said bin in amanner to prevent segregation of said mixture into dilferent sizedparticles comprising the placing of a conduit in a vertical positionwith its bottom end in communication with said discharge opening,providing aperture means in the side walls of said conduit throughoutthe length thereof, so as to afford continuous communication between thebin space surrounding the conduit and said discharge opening, via saidaperture means and the interior of the conduit, providing an inletopening at the upper center of said bin, and providing baffle means, inclose proximity to said inlet opening, for causing material entering thebin to be directed toward, and impinge upon, the sides of said binwhereby said material is cause-d to descend by gravity downwardly andradially inwardly toward said conduit aperture means, whereby thegranules of said granular material enter the conduit by gravity onlyfrom the upper layer of the material in said bin and are discharged bygravity through said discharge opening, no matter at what level saidupper layer may be disposed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS359,401 Pabst Mar. 15, 1887 413,720 Henderson Oct. 29, 1889 535,167 KotzMar. 5, 1895 1,960,797 Sackett a- May 29, 1934 1,991,720 Barreda et a1Feb. 19', 1935 2,500,043 Radtke 1 Mar. 7, 1950 2,907,501 Laird Oct. 6,1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,047,643 France July 22, 1953

2. A METHOD OF LOADING AND UNLOADIANG A MIXTURE OF GRANULAR METERIAL FROM A STORAGE BIN THROUGH A DISCHARGE OPENING IN THE BOTTOM OF SAID BIN IN A MANNER TO PREVENT SEGREGATION OF SAID MIXTURE INTO DIFFERENT SIZED PARTICLES COMPRISING THE PLACING OF A CONDUIT IN A VERTICAL POSITION WITH ITS BOTTOM END IN COMMUNICATION WITH SAID DISCHARGE OPENING, PROVIDING APERTURE MEANS IN THE SIDE WALLS OF SAID CONDUCIT THROUGHOUT THE LENGTH THEREOF, SO AS TO AFFORD CONTINUOUS COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE BIN SPACE SURROUNDING THE CONDUIT AND SAID DISCHARGE OPENING, VIA SAID APERTURE MEANS AND THE INTERIOR OF THE CONDUIT, PROVIDING AN INLET OPENING AT THE UPPER CENTER OF SAID BIN, AND PROVIDING BAFFLE MEANS, IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO SAID INLET OPENING, FOR CASING MATERIAL ENTERING THE BIN TO BE DIRECTED TOWARD, AND IMPINGE UPON, THE SIDES OF SAID BIN WHEREBY SAID MATERIAL IS CAUSED TO DESCEND BY GRAVITY DOWNWARDLY AND RADIALLY INWARDLY TOWARD SAID CONDUIT APERTURE MEANS, WHEREBY THE GRANULES OF SAID GRANULAR MATERIAL ENTER THE CONDUIT BY GRAVITY ONLY FROM THE UPPER LAYER OF THE MATERAIL IN SAID BIN AND ARE DISCHARGED BY GRAVITY THROUGH SAID DISCHARGE OPENING, NO MATTER AT WHAT LEVEL SAID UPPER LAYER MAY BE DISPOSED. 